Posts tagged ‘iPad2’

Have you seen the new iPad 2 TV ad? Both, the new “If you asked” TV commercial and the earlier iPad 2 ad “We believe” humanize the device. Something that other technology companies fail to do. No surprise that Apple was named the most valuable brand for 2011 at $153 billion.

Here is our official iPad 2 blog. Steve Jobs plugged in most of the features we had estimated to see on the iPad 2 except for a higher resolution display (or a Retina display). But not to worry, even without the Retina display, iPad is still the best tablet in the market 🙂

1. Size

The iPad 2 will have the same 9.7 inch display but will be 33% thinner than the original iPad and thinner than the iPhone 4 too! Thank you Apple for setting the trend for others to follow.

2. Front and rear facing cameras

The iPad 2 will have two cameras and it supports Facetime. I know GoogleChic will complain about two cameras and video chatting not being new on tablets. But the key is that Apple is building an integrated device line up and this feature brings the iPad up to par with the rest of Apple’s products giving you the best performance and awesome user experience.

Apple has doubled the iPads processing power with the in house A5 chip along with 9 times increased graphics processing capability and a gyroscope. Say hello to a faster iPad with potential for intensive gaming and navigation.

4. Battery life

Apple managed to squeeze all the new improvements without affecting its battery life. I’m literally on the verge of shredding my Windows Vista laptop for it has a battery life shorter than the shortest lifespan of a MayFly (yes that’s hardly 30 minutes!). A battery life of 10 hours is a welcome relief to me and I’m sure to all of you as well!

5. iOS 4.3

iOS 4.3 has some new features overlayed on the older version of iOS. It will give an improved browser (Safari) performance, wireless music and video sharing with iTunes on your computer, AirPlay to Apple TV from third party applications and web along with letting you choose between using the iPad switch as a rotation lock or as a mute switch. In addition it comes with the Facetime, PhotoBooth, iMovie, GarageBand (the latter 2 Apps cost $4.99 each) specifically designed for the newly camera enriched iPad 2. Are you wondering how iOS on iPad matches up to Honeycomb on an Android tablet? Watch out for our iOS vs Honeycomb battle blog 🙂

6. Smart Covers

If you are one of those visual kinds, you will like this new feature. Apple designed the iPad 2 with a smart cover to protect the iPad’s display. Built in magnets in the iPad draw the smart cover for a snug fit and the smart cover wakes and stands up the iPad. It comes in 10 bright polyurethane and leather covers. We have more inside scoop on the smart covers. Look out for our iPad 2 smart cover blog 🙂

7. Black and White iPad

This isn’t a big deal if you don’t care about the color and care more about the meat inside the iPad. But hey with smart covers, you can actually show off the white iPad.

8. Price

Apple has kept the prices on the iPad 2 same as that of the original iPad. It has a starting price of $499 for the 16GB Wifi only model. Yes, both the black and the white models cost the same! Check out Apple’s site for more model and pricing information. However, if you are counting your pennies, you could get the original iPad (Apple just dropped $100 on the original iPad) Keep in mind that you will get the iOS 4.3 features on the old iPad as well.

9. Shipping

The new iPad 2 is available starting March 11 online as well as at the Apple stores.

Now let’s hear what GoogleChic thinks of the new iPad 🙂

Vodpod videos no longer available.

BY THE GOOGLE CHIC

Like I’ve said before, Apple designs very slick hardware and they’ve done it again with the iPad 2. It’s the thinest tablet out there.

With that said there are some disappointing things about the iPad 2

1. Display

The screen size and resolution remains the same as the original iPad,1024 X 768. More than the screen size, I think a lot of people were hoping for the Retina display.

2. Memory

There was no mention of how much RAM the iPad 2 would contain. Hopefully, more than the 256 MB in the original iPad but I guess we won’t know until March 11th.

3. Camera

Yes, there is now a front facing and rear camera. The rear camera supposedly can record 720p videos, but it takes still pictures at 0.92 megapixel?! No, that’s not a typo, that’s a big OUCH! So pretty much Apple is giving you two holes to go with your iPad 2. I was going to mention that there’s no flash on the iPad 2, but I guess you won’t need it because all you’ll be taking are Mr. Blurry cam pictures.

4. Post PC device

The iPad is suppose to be a post-PC device, but ironically to update the software you’ll have to hook your device up to a PC.

5. HDMI & SD card

It’s not a surprise that there’s no SD card slot. Guess you’ll have to keep syncing it back to your PC ;). As for the HDMI slot, a lot of people asked for it and Apple’s solution is a $39 doggle? From the looks of it, it doesn’t support widescreen?

It’s interesting how Steve Jobs claims that the iPad is a “magical & revolutionary device”. There’s only a couple of things missing 😉

Like this:

You know those revolutionary features on the iPad 2? Well here’s exactly how I feel about it 🙂

BY THE APPLE GIRL

GoogleChic, a white iPad 2, two cameras and Facetime on the iPad 2 is not revolutionary 🙂The super sleek design, increased data and graphics processing with the same battery life all at only $499 is 🙂 (Did I mention the smart covers? No one had thought of that before!)

Here is another funny clip from the Conan O Brian show about the new iPad 2.

Like this:

If you have been speculating on buying an iPad some time soon, then the best advice is to hold off for a few months. Because the next best tablet in the market will be the iPad 2.

Despite Apple closely guarding the specs, there are rumors flying around and rest assured you will see at least some of these features in the next iPad.

LIKELY:

Thinner and Compact: Like the iPhone 4, the iPad 2 will definitely be slimmer with exceptional design quality.

Cameras: The iPad 2 is expected to have a front and rear facing cameras. This is a given since I think FaceTime support is a must for any new Apple product.

3 Axis Gyroscope: With the amount of gaming and navigation potential on the iPad, I think this is another likely addition.

GSM and CDMA: With Verizon now carrying the iPad with MiFi (i.e the iPad itself does not have CDMA functionality), Apple would be sensible enough to build an iPad 2 with a CDMA chip, if not for a dual technology i.e CDMA and GSM iPad.

Higher Resolution: The iPad 2 could carry a high end pixel density. Imagine a higher resolution or a Retina display on a bigger real estate, I can’t stop myself from drooling 😛

USB port: With Apple going wireless and cloud based (MobileMe is rumored to be free in the future), I doubt that the USB port (to enable users to upload documents, movies, photos etc) would be a new feature.

SD card slot: There have been pictures of iPad 2 case with space for an SD card slot. But I think the SD card slot is unlikely, since none of the Apple products – iPod, iPhone – have been given an expandable memory slot. I doubt that Apple would go down that road for the iPad. Again, if Apple has free MobileMe in the cards, an SD card slot is something you will probably not see on the new iPad.

LTE support: With most of the world still running on 2G/3G technologies and LTE at its infancy, 4G on iPad 2 is out of question.

Removing the home button: There have been some rumors of the iPad 2 without a home button. The fact that the iPad is so consumer friendly is because it is easy to maneuver (thanks to the home button!) and it would take anyone just 2 seconds to figure it out. I don’t think Apple would think of removing it anytime in the near future.

Expected Release: April 2011 [Update: AllThingsDigital reports that Apple has scheduled a media event on March 2 where it is expected to launch the next iPad]

Check out the super bowl teaser for the Motorola XOOM. The XOOM will be the 1st 10.1 inch tablet running Honeycomb (Android 3.0). It also sports a 1GHz dual core processor and supports 1080p video playback, pretty sweet huh? Well what’s even sweeter is Motorola’s teaser taking a jab at Apple 😉

“It is time to live a free life”! If this is the teaser I wonder what will happen on super bowl day! AppleGirl and I are getting together not to watch the game but the ads 😉

More about the Motorola XOOM

BY THE APPLE GIRL

GoogleChic, I hope you have considered the fact that Motorola Xoom will be competing with iPad 2 (rumored to be released in the next few months). The new iPad is expected to have a dual core, a better display with front and back cameras. The choice between the two OS’s is obvious. I would rather buy a well tested, aged and tablet optimized software (iOS) than an OS that is not even commercially released.

As for the ad, GoogleChic, there have been a lot of Android phones and tablets (the very few that are out there) that said the same thing about Apple. They haven’t budged Apple from being the top dog 🙂